Photos by Enrique Bonilla, The Paisano.

Coming to San Antonio, “VOZ: Selections from the UTSA Art Collection,” will be the largest exhibit to date at Centro de Artes, featuring 222 works by 166 artists. Out of the 166, 92 of the artists are San Antonio natives.

The City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture and our own University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will present the exhibit, which features work highlighting an artistic Latinx expression.

The exhibit will document collections from the past five decades by UTSA and is curated by Arturo Infante Almeida, Art Specialist and Curator for the UTSA Art Collection Department. Some of the artists featured will include Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide, Jesse Trevino, Cesar Martinez and Judy Baca among other recognized artists. In addition, there will be an accompanying catalog that includes an essay by San Antonio author John Phillip Santos.

Centro de Artes’ mission is to showcase San Antonio and South Texas Latinx artists in a way that let their voice be heard through artistic expression.

“The University of Texas at San Antonio is proud to share Centro de Artes’ dedication to recounting the stories of Latinos and Latinas…like all stories of a particular place and time, the work on these walls is informed by pride, joy and a tenacity that reverberates in the voices that celebrate the Latino experience,” Almeida said.

Trying to preserve their sense of nationality and culture, Latinx artists are using this opportunity to share their lives with us. “San Antonio is a cultural destination known for preserving and celebrating its Latinx arts and culture,” Debbie Racca-Sittre, director of the Department of Arts and Culture said. “This exhibit, with works by nationally and internationally recognized artists, equally shines a well deserved spotlight on the Latino and Latina artists in San Antonio whose contributions locally and beyond should be recognized and celebrated.” While being the second largest city in Texas, San Antonio still maintains a close knit community feel that makes it so desirable.

“The beautiful thing about the art community of San Antonio is that we have other artists from other cities that see the energy here, and they want to come and live here because artists and curators here really help each other, and that’s the beauty of it,” Javier Flores, assistant marketing manager for the Department of Arts and Culture San Antonio said. Much of the credit for the unique vibe of the city is thanks to the artistic community and San Antonio artists are being recognized for their contributions.

The UTSA Art Collection is comprised of gifts and acquisitions of fine art to the univeristy and contains sculptures, paintings, works on paper and mixed media by many talented South Texas artists, some of whom are UTSA graduates. Throughout the university’s three campuses, pieces are located on the interior and exterior, all of which are maintained by Almedia. The collection enhances the educational environment for students, faculty and staff, as well as being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It’s amazing for the university to “acquire all the works and all the history and to be part of the tricentennial is like stamping our works on the city,” Flores said.

The exhibit will be free and open to the community from opening night Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 (that will also feature a public reception from 6-9 p.m.) through Sunday, June 10, 2018. The Centro de Artes Gallery is located at 101 South Santa Rosa on the grounds of Historic Market Square. The gallery is open to the public Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. – 6p.m. More information can be found at their website: GetCreativeSanAntonio.com.